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Monday, July 4, 2016

Raw Food Recipe Menu: July 4, 2016

Happy, happy 4th!! I
hope you're enjoying your holiday with lots of good food, friends,
family, and good times. The 4th, to most people, represents "freedom"
and "independence." What would you like to be free or independent of
this summer or this year? Now?

BreakfastStrawberry Blue Concrete
serves 2 ~ $1.45 per serving

3 bananas, sliced and frozen ($.60)

1 1/2 cups strawberries, frozen ($1.69)

1/2 cup blueberries, frozen ($.60)

stevia and/or agave, to taste

A "concrete" is a very thick shake ... thick enough to have to eat it
with a spoon. And this is a fun and tasty breakfast or treat for anyone.

In a food processor fitted with an "S" blade, process the frozen bananas
until creamy. Add water as needed until the mixture is a thick, soft
serve ice cream consistency. Add about half the frozen strawberries and
process again until smooth. Add a couple droppers of stevia and/or
agave, until you like the level of sweetness. You may not need any
sweetener at all if you use very ripe bananas.

Spoon out and set aside about half the mixture. Then, add more frozen
strawberries to what remains, and process again until smooth. Spoon out
and set aside about half of this mixture, as well. Finally, add the
frozen blueberries to what is left and process again until smooth.

This salad is a bit on the sweet side and I've even had it for
breakfast. The nutrition in here is just off the charts, especially with
the cauliflower rounding it out. Lots of vitamin C, vitamin K, etc. A
few chopped almonds on top would be nice, too. That's usually how I eat
this, but must have forgotten them for the photos!

ingredients, salad

6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped ($1.20)

2 cups sliced strawberries ($2.00)

1 1/2 cups chopped cauliflower ($1.00)

1 small white onion ($.10)

ingredients, dressing

1 cup strawberries ($1.00)

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar ($.20)

1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh

1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh

3 tablespoons agave

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 droppers stevia

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

directions

Arrange the salad ingredients on a plate.

In a blender, puree the dressing ingredients until very smooth.

Add cracked black pepper and salt to taste.

nutritional information: calories: 257 carbs: 35 fat: 21 protein: 10

Dinner

Blueberry Salad

serves 2 ~ $2.00 per serving

ingredients

1 cup blueberries, dried ($1.00)

1 head romaine ($1.29)

handful kale ($.50)

1 medium onion, divided

1/2 cup blueberries, fresh ($.50)

2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)

2 tablespoons coconut nectar or other liquid sweetener ($.40)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar ($.10)

salt and pepper to taste

Blueberries
dry to a wonderful raisin like texture, becoming sweeter and even more
flavorful. Care must be taken to not over dry them as they get too
hard. Just put a cup of blueberries in the dehydrator for several hours
until dry but still chewy.

The
salad is just a simple one of romaine, a bit of kale, chopped onions,
and dried blueberries. Reserve a tablespoon of chopped onion to go into
the dressing.

The
dressing is made with the onion, a half cup of fresh blueberries, the
olive oil, coconut nectar, and vinegar. Puree all ingredients in a
blender until smooth. This works best with a bullet type blender. Most
blenders have a blade assembly that's compatible with canning jars. Just
unscrew the blade assembly from the carafe and attach to a small mouth
canning jar. The pint jars are perfect for small jobs like this.

Also, a larger batch of dressing can be made, just double or triple the recipe. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I
was looking for ways to cut some of the fat in regular nut yogurt and
decided to use ripe bananas and nuts in about equal amounts. This worked
out wonderfully and as a bonus, eliminated the need for more
sweetener.

A
"fool" is basically a yogurt dish layered parfait style. Greek yogurt,
which is very thick, is traditionally used. This yogurt isn't that
thick as I've made it here, but could easily be thickened by draining
some of the liquid through cheesecloth.

In
a blender, puree the bananas until very smooth. Add the nuts (I used
cashews) and lemon juice and about a half cup water for blending. Puree
on high for several minutes, until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate for
at least a few hours. It will thicken quite a bit as it chills.

To
make the "fool," take half the yogurt and puree with a handful of
blueberries. In each serving bowl, put a spoon of regular yogurt and
another of blueberry yogurt, add a few whole blueberries to the top.
Garnish with a couple chopped walnuts and a drizzle of agave, if
desired.

That's a little light on calories, but it's also kind of light on the cost so if you're still hungry have a big slice of lemon cherry cheesecake!

Lemon Cherry Cheesecake

serves 8 - $1.50 per serving

This cheesecake recipe is from my Spring Raw book,
available over there on the side. It's a refreshing dessert that tastes
great anytime, but also goes over well at get togethers and holidays

crust

1 cup almonds ($2.00)

1 cup dates ($2.00)

pinch salt

filling

2 cups almonds, soaked and (optionally) blanched ($4.00)

1/4 cup lemon juice ($.40)

1/2 cup agave ($1.60)

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch salt

1/2 cup water for blending

topping

1/2cup cherries ($.40)

1/2 cup dates ($1.00)

2 tablespoons lemon juice ($.40)

1/4 cup whole cherries ($.20)

In a food processor fitted with an “S: blade, process the almonds until
coarsely ground. Add the dates and process until the mixture sticks
together. Press into the bottom and up the sides of an eight inch
springform pan.

For the filling, in a food processor fitted with an “S: blade, process
the soaked almonds until finely ground. Add the lemon juice, agave,
vanilla, and salt and process, using additional water as necessary. Pour
into the prepared crust and smooth. Cover and freeze until firm

In a bullet type blender, process the cherries, dates, and lemon juice
until very smooth. Stir in the whole cherries and spread over the top of
the frozen pie. Cover and freeze again until firm.

To serve, remove from freezer about twenty minutes beforehand and allow the pie to thaw slightly before cutting and serving.